9/05/2010

September 5, 1960 & September 5, 1985

The Foxes committed five errors in the game and the Dodgers scored seven runs in the fourth inning. BUT, the Three-I League Champions rallied for the win. Charlie Johnson had a big three-run home run for the Foxes. Also for Fox Cities, Ed Saverine went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.

The Foxes are 81-55 on the season. There are three games left in the season.

25 Years Ago Today:

Twins, fog end reign of Foxes

The 3-year reign of the Appleton Foxes as Midwest League champions officially ended as the clock struck midnight Thursday, and just about everyone was long gone from Goodland Field.

With the Twins leading 4-3, the game had been suspended after the seventh inning that would have done Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles proud.

After holding up the game for more than 2-1/2 hours, the umpires ruled that conditions hadn't improved enough. So they called the game, bringing a strange and disappointing conclusion to the FOxes' otherwise stellar season.

"Fog is a weather condition just like rain," said Jim Cutler, vice president of the Midwest League. "We waited a reasonable length of time and treated it just like a rainout. I talked with Bill Walters (the ML president) on the phone to make sure that there was no special rule for playoff games. I was told that there was no special rule for this situation."

Earlier in the day the park was drenched by 2 inches of rain. The efforts of groundskeepers Rick Raasch and Ray Remmel along with Foxes manager Sal Rende, pitching coach Mitch Lukevics, trainer Ken Koch and players Greg Tarnow and Ken Reed got the field into reasonable playing condition. Despite the work, wet spots caused treacherous footing in the outfield.

"Of course we're disappointed to lose," said Rende. "But lose we did. But, there are no losers in this (locker) room. We knew that we would be competitive coming into the season. We did better than we thought we would after spring training. This team came out and did the job every day. They're also good people, and that says a lot about them and their character."

...........................R H E

KENOSHA TWINS..020 002 0 - 4 8 1

APPLETON FOXES 101 010 0 - 3 7 1

ATTENDANCE: 472

COMMENTARY: What struck me most vividly was the manner in which the Foxes reacted to defeat. There were no alibis, no excuses. Rende and his players congratulated victorious Kenosha and wished the Twins well in the league championship series with Peoria.

Those of us who followed the Foxes this season were priviledged to watch champions in every sense of the word.

The above excerpts are from Gary L. Shriver's story in the September 6, 1985 Appleton Post-Crescent.